The 2026 Lexus NX 450h+ F Sport is, in many ways, the quintessential Lexus. It is a silent, leather-bound sanctuary that wafts along swiftly without apology. But as the flagship of the NX range—with a driveaway price a smidgen under $110,000—it carries the heavy burden of lofty expectations. By the way, the RRP is close to 96 grand so imagine going to a dealer thinking you’d steal yourself a tasty Lexus range topper for under the hundy only to hear, “CHA-CHING – plus $14,000 kind sir”. No body should quote RRP, it is an abomination.
Unfortunately, in this case, that burden is literal. To make room for the heft of the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) hardware, Lexus has had to perform some surgical removals that leave a bit of a sting. Given that lesser NX models have the banging Levinson sound and the sparkle of the full glass roof, even in this regal and rarefied palace, there is only so much floor space.
The Good: The Ambience of a 30s Gents Club
Let’s start with the positives, because there are many. From the moment you pull the electronic door release (a clever, if slightly over-engineered, touch), you are greeted by an interior that shames almost everything else in the mid-size SUV segment. While the Chinese brands are busy out-teching everyone with rotating screens, Lexus has stuck to what it does best: craftsmanship.
The cabin of our tester was a “speakeasy” of tasty black and white leather that felt properly posh. Ten cows chose to gracefully retire here, so I’m told. Let’s not go into that any further.
The 14-inch infotainment screen is bright, crisp, and—thankfully—retains physical dials for the temperature. In a world where “spelunking” through five submenus to change the fan speed has become the norm, Lexus deserves a medal for keeping it simple. There are other buttons and levers too, located on the lower right dash and the console.
The driver LCD is flanked by LED-lit metres, but if you’re going to glue a six- or seven-inch monitor in, why not go the whole hog? You get 12 inches in a base-model Korean car, so the best of Japan deserves at least that. It is a real letdown when the rest is so divine.
On the road, the adequacy of 227kW is still good for a 0–100km/h sprint of 6.3 seconds. It’s not a “fire-breather,” despite the F Sport badging, but it is effortlessly quick. Anything close to six seconds was once hot-hatch territory, but it comes at a cost. The transition between the 18.1kWh battery and the 2.5-litre petrol engine is so seamless you genuinely won’t notice it unless you’re staring at the energy flow diagram. It is quiet, refined, and undeniably regal.
Next, a problem we’ve had in several Lexus models, CarPlay keeps disconnecting. You’re not sure when or how, but you become aware that the screen has defaulted to maps or settings and the CarPlay icon has vanished. Sometimes it can be fettled via the phone connections on Bluetooth and other times wants re-pairing.
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Above: This Week’s VIDEO Review –2026 Lexus NX 450h+ Review: The Regal Palace with a Weight Problem
#LexusNX450h, #LexusReview, #PHEV, #LuxurySUV, #GayCarBoys
ABOVE: Why the 2026 NX450h+ is short in a few essentials
The Disappointment: What’s Missing?
However, being the “Alpha” of the NX range comes with an odd paradox. To keep the Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) within legal limits while lugging around that heavy lithium-ion anchor, Lexus had to go on a weight-saving diet.
The most painful casualty is the Mark Levinson 17-speaker audio system. If you’ve ever experienced a Levinson system in a high-end Lexus, you know it’s a delicious combination of silk and honey—an iron fist in a velvet glove. In the 450h+, it’s been swapped for a “Lexus Premium” 10-speaker setup. It’s… fine. But “fine” isn’t what you want when you’ve spent six figures. Despite the Lexus upsell, it lacks the clarity and the “concert hall” punch that defines the Lexus brand.
Then there’s the roof. While the cheaper NX 350h gets a glorious panoramic glass roof that floods the cabin with light, the 450h+ is restricted to a small, old-school moonroof. Again, this is a weight-saving measure to prevent the car from becoming a 2.5-tonne liability, but it makes the flagship interior feel slightly more claustrophobic than its more affordable siblings.
Strangely, I never open sunroofs. Our summers lend a nice sizzle to unprotected skin, and I see no reason not to employ twenty of the best climate-controlled degrees when being outside boils your eyes in their sockets. Seat heating and cooling makes the pilot and co-pilot comfy, but that tiny drive LCD really grinds my gears.
The Reality Check: Range and Charging
Then we get to the “Plug-In” part of the PHEV equation. PHEV models across all brands had a slow take-off, and it all gets down to the resistance of the disinterested Karens of the world. Lexus claims an electric-only range of 87km (NEDC), but in the real world of Australian suburbs and 80km/h arterial roads, we struggled to see more than 60km. While 60km is enough for the average commute, it’s a significant 25% drop from the optimistic marketing materials.
If you don’t plug in every single night, you are simply hauling around a heavy battery for no reason, which actually makes the car less efficient than the standard hybrid version because of the extra girth. I suspect our car had spent more time in hybrid mode than EV mode, as the long-term economy was 5.5L/100km. That’s not bad, but the normal hybrids get better.
The most glaring issue, however, is the AC charging speed. The NX 450h+ is capped at a 6.6kW max rate. In 2026, this feels prehistoric. Even entry-level Chinese PHEVs and EVs are now routinely offering 11kW or even 22kW AC charging, not to mention DC fast-charging capabilities that the Lexus simply ignores. It means a full charge takes about 2.5 hours on a wallbox or a painful 7.5 hours on a standard domestic plug. For a “technology leader,” Lexus is remarkably behind the curve here. You might get 3kW or more on a specially installed home AC charger; a normal wall socket is good for 1kW. That’s a long night, even for a small 18.1kWh battery.
The Opposition and Why it Matters
The last 2 years has presented a bewildering array of new nameplates, brands, models, drivelines and catch-words. Im6 and sedan sister IM5 offer fully BEV equipped scud missiles with ultra-fast DC charging and supercar performance. It is a similar size to the Lexus but offers superior cabin comfort, 4-wheel-steering, and a far longer list of standard equipment for 20k less, drive away.
Legacy brands start to look like creaking geriatric war horses unable to adapt as the new brands pour through cracks in the market, crack now big enough to form a flood.
What does that mean for Lexus, and indeed Toyota? Lexus can’t continue business as usual. While last week’s Omoda PHEV fell short of the Lexus sigh, the luxurious IM5 and IM6 do not. In theory is gives Model Y a run for its money but Toyota is hardly bothered. Holden also failed to read the room and could not compete with cheaper Korean and Japanese brands. It vanished in the face of poor planning.
Change is coming, faster than ever.
The Verdict: Grace vs. Girth
The 2026 Lexus NX 450h+ is a lovely car to lounge in. It is stable, predictable, and wrapped in a level of luxury that makes you breathe a gentle sigh the moment you grasp the door handle. If you value the “Encore Platinum” dealership experience and the bulletproof reliability of the Lexus badge, you will consider this SUV.
But you have to accept the trade-offs. You are paying more for the “flagship” but losing the best audio system and the best roof in the range. You are getting a PHEV system that is outpaced by much cheaper rivals in terms of charging tech and real-world range. Our black and white cabin felt like it was a guest at an ambassadorial shindig, and the drive was frisky without being neck-snapping, one looks over one’s shoulder and wonders.
It is a regal palace, yes—but one where the guest wing and the ballroom had to be demolished to make room for the generator in the basement.
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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